For $95 -- more than your average homeless person would dream of spending on a rather mediocre baby substitute -- Gwen Thompson can be yours. A mixed message if ever there was one.
In San Francisco, Amy Graff asks:
Is Mattel presenting an important social issue to children by manufacturing a doll who faces real, present day challenges? Or is the company comodifying and prettifying the issue by slapping on a Barbie Band Aid? And how can you charge nearly $100 for a doll that's supposed to promote compassion for homeless people?
I am going to take a stab at this from the Midwest. If you are raising children in New York or San Francisco, it is required in your parenting to explain why some people are sitting on the ground and you aren’t. I make this point because Gwen
probably isn’t your only exposure to homelessness. In Minnesota, this is somewhat different. Even though 2,726 children age 17 and younger experienced homelessness with their parents in Minnesota in 2006, we don’t have the problems that many cities do.Even if our children saw as much despair as children do in other cities, toys probably aren’t the best way to learn about current social problems. This makes me wonder why every single American Girl doll EXCEPT for Gwen and her upper middle class friend Chrissa (who is girl of the year 2009), are HISTORICAL figures?
Why does this matter? All the other dolls have historically accurate happy endings. Think of the propaganda for their 1854 doll.
Kirsten Larson must leave all she’s ever known to come with her family to the New World. They settle on the Minnesota frontier, where people don’t speak her language or understand her traditions. Yet in time, Kirsten discovers the richness of her new land—and the true meaning of home.
We all know that if you are a Larson in Minnesota, things have probably worked out for you. (Can’t wait to read the comments I get for that one).
The issue that I have with Gwen is that her story has a happy ending that doesn’t truly reflect today’s homeless population. When you read about Gwen you learn that her father walked out on her and her mom. The mother and daughter lose their house, spend time living in the car, and bed down at a homeless shelter. But they eventually get their lives back together and move into an apartment.
On page 113 of the Chrissa book, Gwen's mom says, "I'd park so that we'd wake up near a wayside rest area or a restaurant--somewhere where we could use the sink for washing up--and then I'd go to work and pretend that life was just as it had always been...I was too ashamed to ask for help. Finally, when all seemed lost, we found help through the caring staff at Sunrise House. Without Sunrise House, I don't know where we'd be today."
After you read that to your child, they might ask, “What if Sunrise House is filled?” Do you explain that everyone doesn’t get their lives back together and move into an apartment? Do you say that all homelessness will go away in 2010? That homelessness is a "limited edition" like the Gwen doll, which is only slated to be available for a few more months?
If we read our children bedtime stories about homeless people who quickly get jobs and apartments at this particular economic moment; it’s both a story of triumph, and possibly a fairy tale. The American Girl Company begs to differ and issued this statement: "Our singular goal with these stories is to help girls find their inner star by becoming kind, compassionate, and loving people who make a positive and meaningful difference in the world around them."
That is easily done. If your child is old enough for a Gwen doll, he/she can go to Sharing and Caring Hands in Minneapolis. That’s a really good place to be a kind, compassionate, loving person who could make a positive and meaningful difference. And while you’re there, they could probably use $95.
6 comments:
It occurs to me to preface my comments with an apology for stating the obvious. But since we are loosely discussing the merits of $100 homeless doll, I think I am on safe ground. Gwen embodies the stratification of wealth in the U.S., but more importantly, Gwen provides access to the "homeless problem," sanitized of the of the unseemly realities experienced by the folks at shelters like Mary's Place.
Sanitized messages are as American as...well, here's my favorite personal example: When the Olympics came to Los Angeles in 1984, there was much consternation about the homeless problem, and the undesirable image problem engendered by public displays of suffering. A two-fold solution emerged: First, the LAPD arrested bunches of homeless folks. As it was impossible to incarcerate all of the thousands of homeless men and women in the L.A area, the city employed a "sanitation" strategy, which included, in part, a donation made by a local clothier of hundreds of tuxedos, which were doled out to the men on Skid Row. Presumably, Olympic attendees would see slightly downtrodden Fred Astaire impersonators lying on the sidewalks, rather than suffering human beings.
A few of the "Larsons" are working at the shelter; far too many, though, will drop a C-note for a Gwen doll, in a lazy, ineffective effort to teach compassion to their children.
What were you thinking? This is the question that should be posed to the American Girl Company with their release of Gwen the homeless doll with a $95 price tag. While the creation of the doll may have had good intentions, it’s a stretch to use this toy to address the reality and the tragedy of homelessness.
The mere creation of Gwen can be classified as an oxymoron – a contradiction in terms. You know, remember in school when your teacher presented classic examples of an oxymoron to ensure that you understood the concept before you took the quiz. There were examples like jumbo shrimp, Hell’s Angels, original copy, and controlled chaos. Well add $95 homeless doll to the list.
The limited release of this doll can’t end soon enough. Gwen the homeless doll is (here’s an oxymoron for you) “a serious joke.”
Since this is so appalling, I can't really wax exotic on why this is so offensive and outrageous. I will say that I applaud the statement, "If you are a Larson in MN, things probably worked out for you..." Oh my, how true--how true.
Well, it doesn't seem to shine a bright shiny light on the problem of homelessness in any meaningful way, does it? I feel a little conflicted calling it arrogant, but...it does seem a bit, however "well-intentioned."
I'm speechless
How nice of Heather Larson...er, Wilson to send a personal note to explain American Girl's humanitarian work for justice in America. How nice of Heather to give us the breakdown as to how much of that hundred bucks actually reaches the homeless...oh wait, she didn't do that, did she? I guess we'll just take her word for it.
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